Symphonic Flames
by RyuxRaven
Summary: When fate & destiny go hand in hand to unite a young man and a young lady together, all is truly fair in love & war. How will she defrost this flaming block of ice while fighting along side for both their lives? When truths & lies mix, what will become?
1. The Beginning of the End

******Symphonic Flames**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Kingdom Hearts Characters that you see pop up in my writing OR Kingdom HEARTS in itself. I only own the story!**

Awake again for the 3rd night in a row. As usual, she still had the same questions like who are these nobodies, what were the heartless, why did it seem like she knew them or mainly the one she kept seeing in her dreams. It felt like a constant Déjà vu. It started off as usual with her outside on some W-Shaped path in a field; nothing but grass, tall trees and dirt roads. There had been 2…no 3 roads. One was to the left, the other to the right while the final one was in the middle. She'd recall in real life from so much television that if the main character came down to 3 roads that the middle road usually ended up being the right one, the safest and then it always ended on a good note. This was a dream though. Everything was subject to change. In her dream, though there were no signs pointing it out, you could pick up a vibe from the three separate roads. The road to the left was Light while the road to the right was Darkness. Now the road in the middle, just like she'd seen on television and read in books was the Twilight. Well at least that's what she thought and the middle road had been her best bet. Little did she know that she was far off from a pleasant Nolita fairytale ending. As she carefully followed the middle trail like she did in the same previous dreams, a tall, slender young man with flaming red hair showed up almost out of thin air.

He never said much of anything but he stood there gazing at her. She always got chills because it was like he was seeing into her soul or…something. Sometimes, with the way he stared at her, with how much times she'd seem him from the time she started having this same dream up until now, he'd become so familiar to her. Even then though, it always felt like they knew each other besides in this dream world. Soon enough, she'd decided that while he stared at her, she wanted to be kind enough and return the eye contact. After a while, she'd developed this weird kind of dependant feeling; a longing feeling perhaps to see him even though their meeting wouldn't be long.

To her, when the young man stared at her, it was almost like he was aware of how she felt but he felt almost stronger than her. It was particularly more so like he'd fallen in love with her. In this specific dream though, tonight, she'd decided that she'd open her mouth and speak this time. Only this time, she wished she hadn't. Their meeting had been cut briefly as he suddenly disappeared although the emotions in his eyes seemed to cross her as apologetic and nostalgic. It hit her not a second too soon: It could not have been her imagination or another fantasy dream. The young man was very real…

He didn't wish to leave her. He wanted to stay very so much for he enjoyed her company. It even crossed her mind that maybe they were accidentally channeling to each others' dreams. But it didn't make sense. Why him and why herself? She never knew how to channel. Hell, she wasn't psychic so what was really going on? How would that even be POSSIBLE for two people who don't even know each other? She'd never seen him around her parts so that's what made her even more skeptical. As she began to delve deeper into her thoughts, an empty, hollowed out voice that was as cold as a winter wind rang powerfully in the night sky. "Darkness is your heart's essence. Never light. It was formed and tainted by darkness and shall collapse and drown in it," said the voice.

She looked around, confused but mostly terrified. No one was there. She'd seen no one but the young fellow and he'd disappeared. So the origins of the voice remained a completely terrifying mystery to her. Suddenly, the ground began to shake and then slowly but surely break apart. Although she didn't understand, regardless of how intelligent she really was, she was aware of one thing: The essence of Darkness was truly around and it was hungry…Hungry for weak willed souls to devour.

The same hollow voice that had announced its presence boomed in the night sky like thunder and with an unnerving force like lightning. "Open your heart child. Open it to the Darkness for it hungers. You are not as weak willed but in fact would put up a good challenge. The Darkness has longed for this. Open your heart to the Darkness my child, for it will cradle you more than the young man you long for but can never have."

Hearing this, she knew it was some part of the truth. Though their meetings had been brief, she strangely felt nostalgic as his eyes had shown. She felt comfortable with him even if they weren't talking like normal people do. She felt…safe. But now he was no longer here to protect her. So she did the only thing she could do: Run. The girl began to run, tripping over few cracks and jumping over the ones too wide to be run across. As she jumped up and over another wide crack, unfortunately, she found herself not making it.

In fact she found herself falling, slipping through the cracks. She was screaming and waving her arms frantically. Unfortunately for her, this is the one and only time the song, 'I Believe I Can Fly' wouldn't come in handy. As she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, she suddenly slammed back into reality, sitting up, wide awake and clammy. Her hair was tossed and in the back it was matted to her head. Her tank top was sticking to her and her eyes were wide with terror. "Ugh…why me…? What is the significance to all of this? That voice…who was that voice…? Where was it coming from? A-and…that guy…he…-

She broke off as the same nostalgia and sadness washed over her like a wave of ice cubes. –I thought it was the dream where I had these feelings only…Do I really want him…I mean do I REALLY want to see him that much? I wonder if he feels like I do outside of the dreams as well…-


	2. The World that Will Never Be CO

_******Symphonic Flames**_

_**Chapter 2 – Present At Castle Oblivion – The World that Will Never Be**_

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Kingdom Hearts Characters that you see pop up in my writing OR Kingdom HEARTS in itself. I only own the story!  
**

**NOTE: CO = Castle Oblivion. If you noticed in the chapter list, the chapter title has CO. I couldn't fit the whole thing so I abbreviated Castle Oblivion to CO.**

Axel sat up in bed in the middle of the night. His hair was sloshed over his eyes and matted down in the back as well and his undershirt was clinging to his chest. That girl, with long bluish-black hair, wasn't all that tall and always looked happy yet saddened slightly; I keep seeing her and every time, it's the same thing…not that that bothers me or anything. But this one night, I felt like I was being ripped away forcibly from her. I couldn't even ask who she was. She was…beautiful; like a sculpture almost…

Axel was this young man's name. He had flaming red hair and was the 8th member in line for the Organization which was called Organization XII (13). He, as a matter of fact, was in charge of the fire attribute and just like the rest of the members of the Organization; he was another 'Nobody.' The Organization consisted of 13 members…well 14 if you considered one person that didn't necessarily belong but was added just for the hell of it. That extra member was more like…well an extra but not now. The Organization, not to mentioned was formed of people who were the 'Nobody' forms of people that used to be some bodies when they were whole.

Now back to Axel – He had a dream a little while ago AND previous recent nights that included a young female that had bluish-black hair who stood in the middle of the W-shaped path. She looked scared when he noticed her from afar but when he could get closer and she became more aware of his presence, her face lit up happily and she seemed to appear more relaxed. Maybe she felt safer around him. This time, tonight, he attempted to speak for the first time out of their many meetings but unexpectedly, she seemed to fade into the Darkness when he even dared to open his mouth. Even to ask her if she needed assistance became impossible.

"Who IS she…? Why'd she seem to be frightened? And I even kept feeling like I knew her already…" Just thinking about it caused another wave of nostalgia and sadness to slow creep up on him. He thought suddenly, that the feelings applied to the dream but now he'd learned that it did not. Axel lies back down and stared at the ceiling, the girl's face reappeared in his head. She WAS truly beautiful. She couldn't be a 'Nobody' though. "Like me…" Axel found himself saying aloud. He then suddenly yet spitefully bit his tongue to silence himself before saying anymore or letting his thoughts catch up, or even before someone heard and decided to probe.

With that, he turned over and went back to attempting rest; hoping to see the young beautiful woman again and this time, going uninterrupted so they could have a wonderful peaceful conversation.


	3. Tomorrow is Today is Subject to Change

******Symphonic Flames**

_**Chapter 3 – Tomorrow is Today which is always… [Subject to Change]**_

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Kingdom Hearts Characters that you see pop up in my writing OR Kingdom HEARTS in itself. I only own the story!  
**

"You Axel dude! You awake?" called Demyx from outside of Axel's door. Axel sat up with bags under his eyes, a little grouchy at that. He'd finally fallen asleep for what he thought had been a good long hour. He'd been dreamless and free but in real time, he'd only been out cold for 15 minutes. Yep…15 minutes till 6:30 AM; the time he was supposed to be up according to the leader of the Organization although he never understood why. Wasn't that always great?

"Yeah, yeah…I'm up! What do you want man?" He called back half-heartedly.

Demyx, the guy that had called for Axel, could be a goof at times and could be extremely technical but sometimes he could be straight up ANNOYING. But he was certainly flexible and whenever you needed him, you could count on him as a friend and DEFINITELY as a teammate. As did everyone else in the Organization, Demyx had a title. He was # 9 of the Organization, known as the Melodious Nocturne and controlled the 'Nobodies' called Dancers. He also used the attributes of Water and a Sitar. Now you'd think water and fire didn't mix well but that wasn't necessarily true.

"Roxas wants to talk to you about something. It's something Namine brought up," said Demyx.

Little did he notice that a lot of things that were casually said would forever somehow change and make a difference within and to everyone including Axel…literally. Axel spazzed and hopped up, barreling through the door in only a tank top and the black pants he slept in. He even left his jacket behind. Normally he preferred to keep his face hidden but he was so focused on his dreams and that girl that almost nothing else seemed to matter. For some reason, he had this feeling that it had in fact something to do with his dreams and the girl.

Parts of his feelings were even nostalgic and the other part was somewhat caring to the point where he wanted to protect her. So lost in his thoughts, he'd well raced down the hall and bumped into Roxas with Namine. Roxas's voice suddenly rang out. "Man! What did Demyx say! You were running like you set…the place…on…fire…?" A momentary uncomfortable silence began to grow before he spoke again, this time with a little bit of nervousness and curiosity surfacing. "Did you…?"

Axel laughed, partially nervous due to the memory Roxas's words triggered. The thought of the whole 'setting the place on fire' reminded him of when he first was assigned an element. Given fire as his assigned element, at times he'd set the place ablaze just by getting nervous, P.O'd or even if the thought of fire simply crossed his mind.

"I didn't set anything on fire. Demyx told me –

He broke off and realized that if he'd spoken, then he'd have been asked why any of the things on his mind mattered so much to him and he'd have to go explaining himself. Even though Roxas was his best friend and he couldn't stand keeping things from him, this was the one time he'd have to make an exception. You can well trust and believe he didn't want to have to explain but he didn't want to have to lie or hide anything either. He'd deal with his conscience later though.

"Something wrong, Axel?" Roxas asked.

"Nah, I just kinda spaced for a sec."

Roxas shrugged and then stepped aside. Axel side stepped him and addressed Namine now.

"You wanted to see me, didn't you? At least that's what Demyx said…" His voice trailed off slightly.

Namine nodded and smiled slightly. "Yes. I believe you might even know why too…"

With that, Axel and Namine left the presence of Roxas to head off to privacy of Namine's room to discuss things that soon changed everything.


	4. Can you Hear the Symphony?

******Symphonic Flames **

_**Chapter 4 – Can You Hear the Symphony…?**_

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Kingdom Hearts Characters that you see pop up in my writing OR Kingdom HEARTS in itself. I only own the story!**_**  
**_

My name is Symphony.

Yes, I am that girl who had those dreams previously. But I have no idea why or what they meant.

She'd gotten no sleep whatsoever last night and she had every desire in the world to hop back in her bed and end the day before it'd even began.

"I swear weekends go by TOO fast." She mumbled to herself.

Just as she was getting out of bed, a voice erupted from nothing, hollow and cold like that of the one in her dreams.

"Soon girl, you will be going where not even this feeble life will matter but only time."

She jumped off her bed and spun around, her back pressed against the wall as though she'd been hoping to become one with it.

"Who said that?"" She bellowed but only got her echo back in reply.

Soon after she'd begin to melt off of the wall and become one with herself, she got the answer to her question.

"There is so much you have to learn and as of now, you understand so little." The voice said.

The hair on Symphony's back that rose had now begun to settle down. She confirmed in her mind that the presence had now left the building. That voice…no, it couldn't have been, she thought. She wasn't exactly too keen on accepting the fact that her dream just might have become a reality but – OH NO! "WORK! I'm late!"

She was so filled up with concern about the voice that she almost forgot that she had a job to attend to. Before she knew, she'd been off to her job in the quiet town known as Melodic Inland. See, in different parts of it the place, it was a town and in other parts of the place, it was treated as an island.

Symphony now as she got herself together and ready to leave, had been off to a new day as a clerk in a store that was half music and half slushies once again due to the fact that it was really as the name of the town insisted, musical and hot. All she hoped though would go well.


	5. New World

******Symphonic Flames**

_**Chapter 5 – New World**_

**__****DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Kingdom Hearts Characters that you see pop up in my writing OR Kingdom HEARTS in itself. I only own the story!**  


Axel and Namine finally reached the only place safe from all public: Namine's room. Sure it wasn't the best place but it was almost like a sanctuary. They stepped into the room, no, a peaceful, serene compound where the walls were white, the ceiling was white, the floor was white and smooth, no tiling at all. The tables were white and on it rested colorful flowers in a white vase and even in the bunch of them; there were 1 or 2 white flowers. In the middle of the room was a wooden easel with a pack of large drawing paper attached to it by a long metal clip. The paper was fresh white almost like she'd open it straight from a new pack but it was impossible for she has several pages flipped over because she'd drawn on them previous days. Even the bed and the mini sofas there were all white. No one understood why white but that's the way the cookie seemed to crumble.

Namine herself even had a white dress on and white flip-flops on. She was of a slim build and seemingly very happy for being a nobody. She had light skin and blonde hair and reached to about Axel's chest.

"That girl…the one that you keep dreaming of…" she said suddenly, thinking, trying to retrieve her thoughts.

Axel waited patiently, listening intently. Apparently, on their way to Namine's "sanctuary" she'd told Axel how she'd had visions of the girl and so through those things, had she obtained information about the girl and wanted to share it in the confidences of her room because she seemed all for this. She didn't want to get him in trouble. She wanted to bring them together. So here they stood behind closed doors.

"Axel, please sit and make yourself at home. This isn't something that we can just discuss in under 5 minutes to then run off into the eye of the storm," she said, finally breaking the silence she had built up on her own. Axel nodded and sat on one of the mini sofas and Namine sat across from him.

"She is exactly how you describe her. She isn't HERE though and there is a reason behind the channeling too." Namine said.

"Wait a minute, how DID I describe her?" asked a shocked Axel.

Namine blinked. That's right. Axel never did tell her about the girl. She'd drawn everything from her vision...including Axel coming to her and telling her about the dreams, namely the girl.

"Namine, did you just have another vision?"

"No. I didn't. But in fact, I had a vision of you telling me about the girl which is where that statement came from."

"What did I tell you?" asked a curious Axel.

Namine began to sift through her thoughts and pull stuff out one by one. "You told me about how tall she is 5'2'', that she has long raven colored hair, black eyes and thin lips, not too thin though. You never told me anything else though."

Axel nodded seeing as that was the only thing he could do and seeing as those were the only things he could have possibly told her. He never really actually spoke to his dream girl [no pun intended] so there was nothing he knew. There were things he could speculate, like how old she might have been but as for where she's from…WAIT!

"Namine, do you know where she lives?" he Axel.

"Huh…well…some place called Melodic Inland. It is nowhere near here though…now about the channeling…" Namine's voice grew distant.

Axel blinked and looked at her. "What about channeling?"

"The actual reason you two keep channeling to each other is because…well I'm not sure I understand it 100% myself but there's a string in fate and destiny that I suppose is binding you two together but there isn't much to explain. It tends to be more like something you have to watch unfold on its own." She said.

Axel nodded and thought over it. Bond? String? Fate and destiny? What? None of it made sense but like Namine said, he'd just have to watch it unfold on its own. "So, what's next?" he asked, more so thinking to himself than aloud.

Namine frowned slightly then a small smile made its way onto her small face. "We get you there. Somehow or another, I'll form a cover for you. The boss will never know you left."

And with that said, Axel and Namine chatted a little more then began to plot and plan and surely enough though, they put the plan into action and worked out any flaws that remained. The basic idea was for Namine to use her drawing to get Axel to the island. Since she had a vision of it multiple times, it was easy. From the drawing extended a portal and that was the portal Axel stepped into. It was the same one he was to use to get out off. It would only stay open for a day but Namine suggested he get out in 12 hours. She would cover his absence for as long as she could but if people started to get really suspicious, she would retrieve him herself.

With that in place and Axel through the portal, the challenge began and the story was soon to unfold fully.


	6. In the Line of Fire

******Symphonic Flames**

_**Chapter 6 – In the line of Fire**_

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Kingdom Hearts Characters that you see pop up in my writing OR Kingdom HEARTS in itself. I only own the story!  
**

Symphony smiled, exceedingly relieved that the seemingly long day terminated at best for now seeing as she was free from work and for the day, she'd earned well over 200 dollars. This meant that she'd sold well over 200 slushies. Lucky for her, the time was hot so it was an advantage. As she closed up for the day, a young man who was tall and slender with red spiky hair appeared. She turned around and right there and then, they met face to face, almost lip to lip. His breath, cool on her face forced her to press against the already shuttered small building. As Symphony took in his identity, it hit her like a blow to the stomach that he was the guy she'd seen in her dreams.

She wanted to run, afraid that she'd be broken off from him again. Fear pressed against her like the damp humidity causing her skin to be sticky even if she'd taken two showers back to back. Just as she began to inch away and break into a sprint, the man yelled.

"No!" he screamed.

It wasn't anger but really a mixture of worry yet the same nostalgia he felt surface in him once again as he laid in bed after the dreams.

"This is my dream again…it has to be…" said Symphony obviously unnerved.

He outstretched his hand out to her, almost to secretly confirm to himself that it wasn't a dream; that thanks to Namine, they'd been brought together after all those dreams and nights.

"Please, this isn't…it is real. Trust me, please. I wanted to see you, to see that you were real and why you show up in my dreams. I know you feel the same too." He said in a rush just in case this was a dream and she decided to disappear like always.

Symphony paused and looked at the man for what felt like days but were merely quick seconds. This isn't a dream she told herself. We've never been this close. The feelings are all here, mixing like our breaths.

"You…" she said breathlessly.

He smiled and nodded as she took his outstretched hand to feel the sudden coolness and the solidity of it.

"Your name…it's Axel…" she spoke unsure of how she acquired the information. Could it be channeling again? No, she hoped not.

Axel nodded again and his gaze held question in it.

"I'm Symphony," she whispered.

For a moment almost, they were lost. They were glad though that they could meet elsewhere but in dreams. But due to the lack of conversation that had been expressed in their dreams, they suffered and were paying the price.

"Umm…" mumbled Axel nervously.

Symphony had been brought back to reality and tilted her head to the side, withdrawing her hand. A questioning expression replaced the dreamy gleam in her eyes.

"Sorry. I haven't exactly practiced or planned out the conversation because I wasn't expecting to meet you…but you're more beautiful in person than in dream." Axel said, a faint blush tenting his cheeks.

She grinned to herself and an immediate blush crept up to her cheeks.

"Oh…thank you I think…" Symphony pulled out her cell phone and checked the time. She had to go and now.

"Well it was nice to finally meet you Axel…see you around I guess." She said, starting to walk away.

Axel stood there watching her walk away before it dawned on him…

He could NOT let her go…he only had 8 more hours before he was forced to return unless he wanted his cover to be blown and in less than 3 hours, he'd managed to figure out her importance to him.

He could NOT let her go…he only had 8 more hours before he was forced to return unless he wanted his cover to be blown and in less than 3 hours, he'd managed to figure out her importance to him regardless of the fact that the 3 hours he spent were more or less by himself and he only spent about 5 mins with her. The fact that he even managed to learn her name and commit it to memory was even more amazing since he had trouble remembering that Larxene (one of teammates soon to show) wasn't named Larraine and Namine wasn't named Natalie.


	7. Unstable Connection & Stirring Suspicion

******Symphonic Flames**

_**Chapter 7 – Unstable Connection & Stirring Suspicions**_

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Kingdom Hearts Characters that you see pop up in my writing OR Kingdom HEARTS in itself. I only own the story!**

He stood there watching her walk away. It was much different from her fading away in the middle of his dreams. It had a much heavier impact than her fading away because sometimes a fade out could be a fade back in. A walk away with a 'no look back' could be a permanent walk away and nothing could be done. 4 hours and 55 minutes left, approximately. Yet, he had the faint idea that he'd be called back and very soon.

- Reach out to her you idiot! -

His inner self was always there to somehow kick him into motion.

- There's no time for this she loves me, she loves me not crap. You're gonna lose her soon and who knows what beating Namine's taking for you! Do something worthwhile! –

Ugh! How right was this voice? Too right for his own good at that. He was now propelled into action, his legs moving, arms pumping, and blood rushing through his being. His heart was like thunder in his ears. Axel did NOT come all this way for nothing. He could hear his breath coming out heavily but it didn't matter. It didn't matter that he got side stitches from the running either. He didn't care. Just being in her presence was enough. He wanted to at least get to say goodbye before he was forced to return.

* * *

Symphony continued to walk home. Home wasn't far from work. Yet today after those recent events, homes' path seemed to stretch out on her. She wanted the comfort of her pillow, her comforter and maybe either a slurpie or a box of Kleenex. How could she let him go like that?

-Really? Is that what you do when you've been dying to see him, feel him, breathe him and hear him? You run? That's the dumbest –

She broke her thoughts with the loudest "SHUT UP ALREADY!" No more degrading. She was too nervous and could you blame her? All Symphony had done was make money, want a normal life and close her shop only to turn and be face to face with a dream guy…HER dream guy. Ignorant right, isn't it? And the fact that they say dreams actually can and do come true don't help her situation either.

But maybe she wasn't READY to see him at all? She could barely understand the bond they had or why they were so close. It was only 2 weeks' worth of dreams with silence. Actually it was silence with the exception of that voice; that…scary, deep, ridiculous voice. Mysterious, that's for sure. With all of the things, weird and unusual things she'd seen and heard on this island, this had been by far the most spazztastic thing she'd been involved in.

The point was that she wasn't even sure that she was ready. She could barely understand, let alone decode the messages her heart bothered to send her brain. She couldn't grasp what was going on, why it was going on and for all she knew, it could have been her finally going out of her mind. She wanted to make sure that she not only had a solid understanding but that she wanted to actually be around him, for real. The bad thing about it was that she'd never know that because she needed to actually HANG around him. She'd definitely never know now though, she left him behind and surely he'd gone away.

One thing she learned was that, no one would wait forever. Sure some would wait longer than others but no one would be willing enough to stand in the same spot forever until their dreams and hopes came true for the one they liked or loved returning. Sadly.

Never did she notice or mind the rapid approach of the footsteps. Never would she believe that they were from…

* * *

"Namine, where's Axel? He's been really quiet and that's a bit...unusual?" asked Roxas later on that day.

Namine had taken to running around, ducking and dodging, rolling and covering and even locking and blocking doors whenever Axel was asked about. Though she got the occasional stares of, 'Something is up and I'd prefer if you told me now' she still made up endless excuses. Though, she had to make sure that they all lined up somehow with each other otherwise, she'd have 13 people approaching her questioning her and beginning to put some sort of puzzle together.

The day went accordingly:

"Hey Nami" said Demyx.

"Hey." She replied.

"Have you seen Axel 'round? Wanted to talk to him 'bout some things." He said.

"Errr….welllll…he's not feeling too good. A bit under the weather and suffering from a bit of insomnia but I got him to fall asleep." She said, wincing seeing as she hated to lie. Demyx was such a good, soft heart guy. Lying to him just broke her heart but selling Axel out wasn't exactly an option.

NEXT:

"Namine, where's Axel? He's been really quiet and that's a bit…unusual…even for him," asked Roxas later on.

"Oh...well if you didn't hear it from Demy…errr…ugh...Axel's not too wonderful. Under the weather, that he is," she said, conjuring her memory forcefully. Please, it'd help if you passed it around," she thought.

It'd make it easier if it was passed around. That way, she wouldn't have to play 21 questions with everyone.

"Well can I see him please?" Roxas asked, his expressionless face now becoming fixed with concern.

"NO!" yelled Namine accidentally. Jumpy nerves would be the kind of things to do that to you.

Roxas stumbled back. Her voice smacked him twice.

"Whoa…." He muttered. "Sorry?"

"Sorry! I mean…well he's denying people. He's embarrassed about…being sick? Iunno…he's got issues," said Namine, rolling her eyes.

-You owe me big time Axel…BIG TIME!- This is what her thought yelled menacingly in her head.

Roxas shrugged and the look in his eyes threatened to defy the request or if not, threatened to return sooner rather than later.

-Phew!-

And this continued all throughout the day. The worried smiles gradually became heavy with suspicion. Whispers circulated but she fought them off to the best of her ability.

-Hurry up you pain in the Ax! I can't do this forever you know!- She thought to herself.

* * *

Forever seemed like the biggest, yet common issue amongst them all. Time always threatened them somehow, someway.


	8. It All Begins Here

**Symphonic Flames**

_**Chapter 8 – It All Begins Here**_

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Kingdom Hearts Characters that you see pop up in my writing OR Kingdom HEARTS in itself. I only own the story!**

Footsteps! She thought. Symphony spun around and before she knew it, Axel sprawled on her.

* * *

He'd lost his footing. He didn't expect her to turn around, let alone hear him. But even if he were as silent as he thought, that didn't stop his sweet Organization trench coat from stirring up a small breeze. That was definitely hearable. They'd both laid there on the ground, him on top of Symphony. This would result in …a lot of negative actions.

A blush crept up Symphony's face and she began to push Axel off her. This, couldn't POSSIBLE get any weirder but that would be what she'd say to push herself into further denial.

Axel got up and straightened himself out, clearing his throat and then looking away while offering Symphony a hand. A smack on the face would soon follow, he speculated. No, instead, she took his hand and he pulled her up. Her blush seemed to fade just as quickly as it came.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

Axel frowned a little then sighed. "Nevermind…" He turned on his heels and began to walk away. Yeah, that voice in his head just made him out to be a complete idiot…again. Seconds later, footsteps trailed behind him.

"Where are you going?" Symphony asked. She'd stopped walking and her head was tilted up, so as to look at the back of his head. She knew he'd turn around so she could see his face and look him in the eye.

He'd done just that. He'd turned around and looked down, immediately, he'd caught her eyes. "Leaving. Going home," he grunted.

"But…why?" She asked, her brows knitting together to form a frown.

-Yeah. Tell her because she doesn't seem to like you anyways; that you don't want to be a burden to her. Tell her that it was a mistake. Tell her that - -

"Because…I wanted to spend time with you and to understand you. To learn about you, to get…closer to you. I wanted to learn more about why this is happening. But with the little time I have now…and then you don't even seem like you want the same…" Axel trailed off. If there was one thing he knew even though he'd never been in a relationship or cared so much about one person ever in their entire life was that no matter how you felt, you could never make a person change their feelings for you. They had to do it on their own. In time it'd happen. But once again, time was something that waited for no man.

Symphony stood there. Somewhere deep down inside, she felt the same way but finding out he couldn't hang around much longer made being close to him or bothering to get closer to him harder…and it made things seem purposeless, one after the next.

"Well your time intervals are like threats to me. I want to…talk with you and spend time with you but…you're not coming back so why try?" She said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I never said I couldn't come back. It's just more or less that I can't come as often as I'd like. But whether I can or can't, that shouldn't stop us from getting closer," said Axel and he stepped closer to her.

She could almost feel the heat emitting off of him and the scent of something burning, like fire was heavy on him. She examined him momentarily before turning away.

"My parents aren't coming home tonight…maybe you would come with me back home. Then we could talk there instead of out in the open…?" Symphony spoke, although she'd long lost her senses to his mysterious scent.

"Sure. Why not? Sounds better to me anyways," he said and they continued walking and eventually began asking questions.

* * *

"What's your name?" She asked.

"Oh c'mon, you know what it is!" said Axel rolling his eyes.

"We're starting over. Answer the question for pete's sake," Symphony said sharply.

"Ok, ok. So what was the question again?" he asked.

"What's your name?" Symphony repeated.

"Axel. What's yours?" he mumbled.

"Symphony." She said with a smile.

Axel chuckled. "This is crazy. Do we have to do this?"

She paused and thought about it. "Hmmm...Well I thought if we had a fresh start that we'd be able to go further…"

He nodded. "Ok. Well, Symphony, what's your favorite color?"

"I have too many. That's not a fair question!" she exclaimed.

Axel chuckled. "Well you gotta choose…"

"Hmph…umm…red." She said pouting. "Yours?"

He paused for a second then looked over at her. "Red."

This went on and on even after they did reach her house. Axel ended up lying on the floor and Symphony on her bed. Endless questions filled the air.

"Where are you from?" asked Symphony.

"A place called Castle Oblivion," he answered.

"And where is that?" she asked.

"I…I'm not sure...but it's in a place far away. Outside of the castle though, is like a road with 3 different paths that start together and separate –

Something just then clicked in Symphony's mind and signaled off in Axel's mind.

Axel & Symphony: "THE DREAM!"

Symphony sat up and looked down at Axel and Axel continued to lay down the floor, his gaze meeting hers.

"Next question…please?" He said indifferently.

Symphony knew he wasn't ready to think about that or talk about it because soon he'd have to part with her…as usual.

"Umm…who are you? I mean…what is the purpose of that place you come from?" she asked hesitantly.

Axel sighed and turned on his side. "Castle Oblivion…well it's a place for nobodies –

Symphony intervened. "Wait…are you…saying you're a nobody…? Axel, that's insane. You're putting yourself down. You are a somebody…to me…you're Axel." Slowly her facial expression began to show up as anguish.

He shook his head. "No Symphony…I mean…I am a Nobody. Nobodies don't love, like, have a heart. We don't exist. Barely…we're that silver lining and that's it."

"NO!" she shouted. "SHUT UP! Stop! …Just stop it…"

Soon, silence took over and the questions ceased.

* * *

Symphony climbed down off of her bed and sat down facing Axel's back.

"Axel…?"She whispered.

For a moment, he did not respond and she thought to climb back into bed and now lay herself to sleep. But just then, he made the slightest of movements.

"Yeah Symph?" he answered, his voice filled with a longing to sleep.

She blinked. Symph…huh? She thought it _was _kinda cute. Hm, she didn't mind too much.

"No...well...umm…no matter what you say, you're someone to me. Even if I don't fully understand, I understand enough to care about you. I'll be here, I'll wait." She said, more so thinking aloud.

At that, Axel sat up and Symphony looked slightly alarmed by the sudden movement. In the darkness, she could see his outline, and his fire red hair shone bright. His green eyes too. She blushed and her pale skin had betrayed her right then and there. But what shocked her was that Axel had reached out and placed a hand on her cheek and moved closer, his lips brushing over hers.

"Thank you Symphony…that's all I need. But even with the little understanding you have…I care too much to drag you into anything. I don't have the luxury of peace like you do on this beautiful island. I am, the opposite of you. I refuse to obstruct your life because of my chaotic life." He said, and as he spoke, he could hear Namine's voice stretch out into his mind.

-Hurry Axel…you must leave by morning…I don't know how much longer I can cover you.-

He told her through the silver lining in his head that he'd be returning soon. To hold on. But then Symphony's voice broke through.

"I…-

He'd put a finger to her lips. "Just listen to me, alright? Stay here. Sleep. We will finish in the morning. Now nod to show you understand."

She nodded and sighed then proceeded to get up and climb onto her bed when Axel grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back down.

"What are you doing?" she asked, frowning even though he probably really couldn't see it.

"I just wanted you to sleep down here with me…" he replied.

The frown was replaced with a small smile and she complied and laid down beside him. "Afraid that the boogey man's gonna come out from under the bed?" she teased.

"No. But afraid that you might get away from me. I only have until the morning. Then I'll need to leave or the portal to here will close and I'll be stuck," said Axel.

Symphony half smiled. "Well that shouldn't be such a bad thing."

He raised an eyebrow then shook his head. "It shouldn't but it is. Our worlds aren't supposed to meet and I have a friend covering for me. If I don't return home, we'll be found out. You don't want that do you?"

She shook her head.

"Good. Now let's get some shut eye."

* * *

With that, they fell asleep next to each other. Everything was left to time and fate.


	9. Is This Goodbye? Pt 1

**Symphonic Flames**

**_Disclaimer_**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Kingdom Hearts Characters that you see pop up in my writing OR Kingdom HEARTS in itself. I only own the story!**

_**Chapter 9 – Is this… Goodbye?**_

Morning came quickly as Symphony lied asleep still on the floor. Her digital clock read 9 AM. Axel had already begun to clean himself up and redress. His face though sleep still clung to him, sadness seemed to outweigh his exhaustion. He didn't want to leave her behind. He wanted to stay with her. Even if possible, bring her with him. He knew that if he'd alerted her to let her know that he was leaving, she'd probably follow him like a lost puppy. Maybe she'd even cry. Some nobody he was because it felt like only for Symphony did he seem to have a heart. Every second he spent with the girl, he found himself tumbling further into his feelings. Starting to understand them, it made him feel good about himself.

But he knew, like everything else, all good things must come to an end. He was breaking rules. But he was also following the heart he never had, so he thought. If he left her before so arose, it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe she'd get mad and – no, she wouldn't. She'd be hurt. She'd want to find him. Push herself into further denial, but so what? She just wanted to be with him and that wasn't a crime. At least, here it wasn't.

"….Mm…," Symphony began to stir from her sleep.

Axel's head jerked up and he looked in her direction as Symphony began to sit up and rub her eyes sleepily.

"Axel…?"She drawled.

He smirked. She looked like a little kid and sounded more like one who just woke up from a long nap.

"Yeah Symph…I'm here," said Axel. And just then, there was a sharp pain in his chest, and his throat began to sting. Not for much longer though…

She stretched and stood up and looked at him. Observing him, she noticed he looked freshened up. She looked at the clock. 9:10 AM. That's right. He was…

"You…you're leaving aren't you…?" she said her gaze steady but her voice trembled.

Axel nodded and smiled. "Yeah, but I'm not really leaving." He strode over to her and brushed a strand of hair out of her face then placed a hand on her chest. Symphony blushed slightly and watched him feverishly.

"I'll always be here. You know, I'm never far. Whenever you think of me…I'll feel it...h-hey...what are you…

Symphony lifted a hand and placed it on his chest, a small smile on her face. The sadness behind the smile overthrew it.

"You have one too. And I'll always be in it…whenever you think of me. Because I'll never be far…I'll…hold you close…and I'll wait...until I see you again…-

She'd broken off and hot tears rolled down her cheeks. The grief she felt was immeasurable. The only other times she'd felt like this was when her childhood friend, Ienzo had moved away due to the fact that his parents divorced. He'd been unable to contact her since then. And even then, she felt at ease because she knew that Ienzo was really independent. He could take of himself and plus where he'd moved to, was an area she knew about. He was pretty safe where he was. But Axel…no, it was different for Axel. She had barely any information on his home besides the little he was willing to offer up to her. She didn't know the surroundings or where it was close to. So it only made it harder for her to just let him go like a dove to the sky. While pursuing her thoughts and moving in a circle, she'd failed to realize the thumb that wiped away the tears on her face and the warm embrace that she'd been pulled into.

"Symphony, I don't want to leave you. I don't want to see you cry. I don't want you to hurt. I…God…just…I'll try to come back. I promise! I won't leave you like this. I know it that in my…

He'd struggle to say it. He struggled to say heart. Nobodies don't have hearts. But then how could he feel all these strong emotions? Just stop denying it, he thought. You DO have a heart. Symphony doesn't think you're a nobody. No, you're not. You're…Axel. A voice rang clear and strong in his head. Lea. His eyes snapped open.

"Axel? Are you okay Axel?" Symphony's voice flung him back to reality.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I'm fine. Symphony, I owe you one more truth." He released her and looked at her as she waited patiently and listened intently.

Axel cleared his throat. "I know it that in my heart, we will meet again whether the Gods of Heaven and Earth forbid it not. So don't see this as a goodbye. And don't cry. I don't ever want to see you cry. Not over me especially. Alright?"

Symphony nodded, her mind processing his words and awaiting the final truth.

Axel thought for a minute, a finger scratching his hair.

"The final truth, is that my name BEFORE I became a nobody was Lea. Axel is my Nobody name," he said.

Symphony's brows furrowed before she spoke.

"I like Axel better. Lea…it sounds too feminine. Unless…your somebody is a…female…" she trailed off waiting for to say something.

He laughed. It started off as a small haha…towards a chuckle then an outburst.

"No Symph. That's not the case. Once your somebody is male, your nobody is a male too. 100% guaranteed or your money back free," said Axel, calming slowly from his laughing fit.

"Oh…phew…that would be –

Weird," both had uttered at the same time.


	10. Is This Goodbye? Pt 2

**Symphonic Flames**

_**Chapter 9 – Is This…Goodbye Pt.2**_

Namine was outside her door, eyeing her watch, worriedly and nervously. Axel doesn't have any time left! Zoom out…let's get a better view.

This is better. EVERY Organization member was outside her door, in front of her, in a horizontal line ready and waiting for an explanation as to why Demyx, leave it to him, said that he walked into Axel's room and he is NOWHERE to be found.

"I thought he was SICK!" yelled Roxas.

"Me too," mumbled Namine.

Shortly after that comment, the head honcho, Xemnas made his way down the hall.

"What's with all the commotion? What is going on here?" he inquired.

Vexen, number 4 in the Organization and also known as the Chilly Academic turned around and stepped towards the leader.

"Apparently, Axel was sick. So Namine told us. But Demyx walked into the room to check and there was no Axel. So now we'd all like to hear from Namine, what's REALLY been going on," he said matter-of-factly.

All eyes on me, she thought. Great, this is just great.

"Well, you see, Axel—

Axel had warped into his room and then came out to find everyone crowded in front of it.

"What's going on? Don't you know I'm sick? I'm glad I have so many visitors. The fact that all of you care, even the boss, oh you shouldn't have. I am soooo FLATTERED!" said Axel.

Everyone turned to his direction and stared.

"He's fine...," grumbled a voice from the crowd.

Everyone looked in the direction to find it to be the one and only Xaldin.

Soon after, Marluxia rolled his eyes, and shook his head.

"Obviously, he's got no choice but to be fine. He's still saying nonsense like 'I'm so flattered.' Oh come on!" said Marluxia. With that, Xaldin and he had departed from the crowd back to their business. Marluxia before he took off, grabbed Larxene before her sarcasm kicked in and caused unnecessary drama.

Roxas said his few words to Axel, something along the lines of 'Do it again or you die' and 'I'm sorry I pried, I was worried' before leaving with the rest of the crowd. Demyx also said his share of words before heading up the back of the crowd. Not too long after everyone was gone, Namine grabbed Axel by his Organization coat and shook him so hard; his head looked as it would fly off.

"What the hell, what the flying hell! Are you TRYING to get me killed? Have you forgotten that I'm your only way to and from that damn girl? HUH?" yelled Namine.

Axel looked disoriented, his spiky hair now a giant mess. He managed to pry Namine's hands off his coat and straighten himself out.

"I didn't forget but…

Just then like on cue, Symphony's last moment, her last smile while waving to him as he left appeared in his mind. It was as clear as daylight.

"_Symphony, I have to go...I promise you though, I WILL come back…please don't cry."_

_She sniffled, and her eyes slowly moved up his body then stopped as she gazed into his eyes wearily. _

_OK. I won't. But Axel…?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_Won't you please take care of yourself? Stay safe and don't forget…about me. I…I'll miss you so much," she said before breaking down into tears._

_Axel forwards towards her and embraced her, holding her close and kissed the top of her head._

"_I won't forget. I promise. Remember we're always in my heart and my mind…you're with me no matter how far apart we are. 'Kay?"_

_Symphony nodded. "OK."_

_He let her go now and walked towards the portal and it felt like he was being torn in half. The world had no idea how he felt. No one would understand ever unless they'd been in a position like this. _

"_Axel!" She yelled to him._

_He looked back at her, a quizzical look on his face._

"_I love you. Come back to me, I'll be waiting." She yelled out to him._

_Immediately, his heart began racing. She, loved him? _

_With a smile spread across his face, his eyes had spoken before his mouth could._

"_Symphony, I love you too. I won't fail you. Not now, not ever…" _

_That's what his eyes said. He then proceeded through the portal, bye for now but never goodbye forever…_


End file.
